Apprentice Rose
by DragonLady99
Summary: The Titans never found Robin or discovered the cult in which he now had to take part. But Robin is still trying to find a way back to them. Now when a Titan joins the Apprentices, is it all Robin will need to escape?
1. Chapter 1

-1_Crack!_

Robin shuddered as he heard the sound of a whip followed by the oh so common scream. Ever since Slade had started taking other apprentices this was all he would ever hear. They didn't have a reason to be obedient like he did. They didn't have to swallow their pride and just take all the beatings because they didn't have something they had to protect. _Someone._

_Crack!_

He covered his ears hoping that the scream wouldn't penetrate them, but it did, it always did. He was tired of watching young faces brought in everyday just to be tortured. Slade was building an army. For what he didn't know, even if he was top apprentice. He had to be. He had to get out so he could see her…. Them.

_Crack!_

He tensed up preparing himself for the next blood chilling scream, but it never came. Oh great! They had either passed out or died and Robin highly doubted it was the first one. He walked into the chamber to receive the news but had a bloody body pushed into his arms instead.

"Take him! He far to difficult!" Slade yelled as he walked away fuming. Robin smiled. This must be a pretty stubborn kid to get him like that.

Returning to the body at hand, literally, Robin decided to observe its features. It was a boy, a pretty good looking one at that. He had strong features only disturbed by a whip mark across his cheek that was still bleeding. Robin absentmindedly pressed a torn shred from his shirt to his face to still the flow, but he continued to survey him. He had tan skin he knew Raven would like. He saw the calloused hands he knew Cyborg would go for (Cyborg loved hard workers) he observed his clothes which he knew beast boy would go for. And then there was the black curly hair that Starfire would have just loved to run her fingers through, she had often done the same with his.

Robins eyes grew wide and then shut tightly, his hand colliding with his forehead. He had promised himself that he wouldn't think of her. The pain that followed that thought was terrible and the ache of want was just as bad. He had thought of her often when he was first dragged here, and somewhere along the way he had realized his love for her and that only made it worse. Sighing he placed the body down and felt his pulse. It was still going almost regularly, he was a strong one. He hadn't gotten many like this in a while. Whenever he would get loaded with another would-be apprentice they were almost always near dead or well, dead. Slade wasn't a lenient master to say the least. He himself had been one of the lucky ones that had come to Slade early so he wasn't as impatient, and had been smart enough to keep his mouth shut. He had tried to silence as many out bursts as he could but a few always made it to Slade's ears. That was most likely what had happened to this poor guy.

" Well Robin there's no use thinking back on things that cant be changed." he said to himself as he hoisted the boy over his shoulder. He might as well take him to his room.

Robin didn't even bother to look at the hallways and other rooms beside him because he had already examined them all out when he had searched reverently for a way out. Every once in a while he would glance around and notice a new hallway or an extra room to accommodate new apprentice's. he was sure Slade had been building them while all of them slept. This place just seemed to be getting bigger. Oh well. Just more for him to blow up when he finally got out of this place.

He glanced up finally as he came to his room and removed a key from a pocket and his gold and black suit. He pushed the key into the lock and turned it. As he entered his room he locked the door behind him. You couldn't trust anyone with Slade in charge. He then flopped the boy on his bed back up so no blood from the whipping would get into his covers. He slowly glanced up and around his room as he began to remove the boys shirt. He was probably the only one in this god forsaken place with a moderately normal room. A bed, a closet, a dresser, and a table and two chairs. Littered across the table top was newspapers upon newspapers with headlines that read : "Teen Titans defeat villain!" or " Teen Titans face new foe!" you know, things like that. He had made it his duty to keep up with his frien- the Titans so he could see how they were doing while he had been away for seven months. He sighed as he retuned to the boys back, all those newspapers reminded him too much of his home- former home. He nearly gagged when he looked at the back in front of him.

Two words: raw meat. he didn't want to describe it anymore. He stiffened and made a face as he removes all the shirt and pulled out a first aid kit from a drawer in the table. 15 gausses and most of the medical tape later Robin had successfully made a crude binding for the boy. Robin rubbed his hands together moderately pleased with himself. As he did so his eyes flitted up to his calendar as he surveyed the date. January 3rd. Starfire's birthday was in 14 days. It made him sad to think that if he weren't here right now he would be rushing around the shopping mall looking for the perfect gift. But he never would. He was trapped in this damned place. No, he couldn't think like that. He_ would_ get out and he _would_ buy Starfire a birthday present… even if it wasn't for this one.

He looked down at his hands and saw that they were lightly stained with blood. He usually would have ignored it but he decided to go wash them anyways. He walked to his door and repeated the same process of unlocking it and locking it. He wasn't worried about the boy, he still had a couple of hours before he woke up. He walked down the hallways again heading for the bathroom when he came across a sweet sight. There were often romances kept secret from Slade among the apprentices and this one was no different. Just two lovebirds quietly kissing under the stairs. It pained him to part them.

"Guys" he said lightly shaking them. "Slade is in a terrible mood. If he finds you your dead meat."

The couple separated immediately and stood up with a slight blush on both of their faces.

"Thanks for the heads up Robin." the boy said taking the girls hand and walking the other way.

"No problem Mike!" he said loudly. He was about to turn when he noticed the girls hair color. It was red. He sighed again as he thought of his red-haired beauty. He began to walk again but his journey was suddenly interrupted by a woman's scream.


	2. Chapter 2

_Ah! that Slade! _Robin thought to himself. _He's gone to far this time!_

Robin began to sprint down the hallways looking for the Apprentice master. If Slade had enough of a mind to hurt a woman, no, a girl by the sound of her scream, then he had to be contained. His metal lined boots made loud clangs on the rusty floor as the boy wonder searched the building. He had always thought that Slade should have stolen his boots with more stealth in mind. His shoes alerted every apprentice for at least fifty yards that he was headed their way. He knew Slade would be on his guard as well. Shaking the thought from his head, Robin narrowly dodged a flying disk sent in his direction. On normal circumstances he would have yelled angrily at the novice apprentice for not looking were he was throwing but he was to busy now. He merely smacked the guilty looking kid upside his head and kept running.

He jumped of a balcony and took out his hook shot aiming it for the ceiling. He pressed a button which set it off. As it latched on to one of the banisters above, he did a front flip in the air landing on a table, the hook shot's chain breaking his fall. he released the instrument and kept running. Someone would get it down for him later. He sidestepped a group of kids and beam vaulted over a loose cart as he skidded down the hallway. As he turned a corner Slade's office finally came into view. He heard the scream again as he jumped in the air and side-kicked Slade's door to the ground.

A flash or purple, a glimpse of red hair and fear-filled green eyes was all he saw before Slade pulled someone into another room.

His breath caught in his throat. That girl… she had almost looked exactly like…. Hers eyes were so… and her hair…. Starfire?

His eyes grew wide. _no…_

He threw himself at the door and began screaming out Slade's name.

"Slade! Slade you bastard! OPEN THIS DOOR!"

Slade's shadow shown through the door as he walked up to it.

"No Robin. Your not ready yet. Besides, she's a crucial part of our little plan."

"What plan! You come out here and tell me Slade! Come tell me that to my face! What the hell is going on! You know what? I don't care! Give…me…Starfire!" Robin yelled banging on the door with all his strength.

"No." was his only answer followed by another scream.

He slowly backed away. If that was Starfire, her scream had sure changed a lot. He shook his head. It didn't matter who it was. A defenseless girl in Slade's grasp was as good as dead if he didn't help her. But he couldn't do anything about it now. He knew Slade would have already called security and he didn't want to be around when they got here. He began to walk away when he heard a gun shot. He cringed but wasn't worried when he realized it hadn't come from Slade's office. He still needed to check it out.

_Great!_ he thought._ Another problem! And I don't even know if that's my Star in there! Wait…. _my_ Star? Uh! It doesn't matter! Might as well figure out who got into the guns room…._

!#$&()+)(&$#!

Robin sighed as he locked the door to his room. He hated dealing with stuff like this. Some kid had gotten into the armory and had started playing with a loaded gun. On the bright side no one got hurt. The kid was just a little startled because the bullet had barley missed his head.

He sighed as he put his room keys in his pocket and set down today's newspaper on his desk. He had picked it up on his way to his room. He wouldn't really read it until later but if he had he would have noticed the headline which read: "Another Titan goes missing!"

Suddenly Robin remembered the guy laying on his bed. He was most likely still dead asleep after the beating but he decided to check on him anyway. He turned around and looked at his bed. The guy was sitting up on the bed reading one of the newspapers. It read: "Red X takes down Titans!" He heard the kid chuckle to himself. Robin decided to be straight forward with this guy. If he had been strong enough to wake up in only two hours then he wouldn't be trusted.

"What's your name?" Robin asked distrustfully.

The kid didn't even move when he said. "My name is Jason. But most people know me as Red X.."


	3. Chapter 3

-1Perfect.

JUST perfect.

"How did you-" Robin began.

"Patience." Red X replies.

Robin clenches his fists together.

What in the hell was going on? Why is Red X, of all people, down here? What could Slade POSSIBLY want with him? Robin's eyes turn to slits of mistrust.

And why would Slade beat another villain to the point of unconsciousness?

Robin shakes his head and decides to play it cool.

"How's my gauze holding up?" Robin asks leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.

"It's good. Didn't know you were a medic." Red X replies flatly while folding up the newspaper.

"I'm not." Robin says pushing himself off the wall with his propped up foot and walking to his bed. He doesn't sit down of course, he just watches his new visitor from a closer distance.

After a few minutes of silence X places the newspaper back on the table and stands up facing away from Robin. He puts his hands in his pockets and seems to be holding back from saying something.

"You worried about Starfire?"

Robin gasps inaudibly and immediately raises his guard.

"What?"

"You know. Red hair, green eyes, super strength, great bod-"

"I know who she is." Robin says cutting him off. "What do you know about her?"

Red X grimaces. "I was brought here with her."

Robin turns to face him fully. "What?"

"Oh please Robin try not to sound so intelligent." Red X snickers and turns to face the top Apprentice. If possible, Robin began to dislike him even more.

"Tell me what you know about Star." Robin states bluntly.

"What? No please?"

Robin walks to Red X and grabs his shirt collar. He picks him up off the ground and pushes him up against the wall.

"Woah buddy I'm not like that." The villain says smirking.

Robin pulls him off the wall and throws him back up against it.

"I'm not going to play your little games." Robin states. "As far as I know, your life is in my hands. You want to mess with me?"

Red X pries Robin's hands away with difficulty, but he shows no sign of it.

"Fine." X replies fixing his shirt. Robin takes a few steps back and crosses his arms.

Red X looks at Robin out of the corner of his eyes and then down at his shirt.

"Aw man you stretched it all out." He mumbles.

Robin walks to his closet and pulls out one of his uniforms. He throws it to Red X who catches it. He gave him the uniform as more of a way to minimize suspicion, rather than to be nice. Robin fixes a damaged weapon of his as Red X changes.

"Wow, looks like two of your uniforms look better on me." Red X laughs as he adjusts the belt.

Robin doesn't look up. "I won't ask you again. What do you know about Starfire?"

Red X bites back a retort and answers simply with a "She's here."

"Where?"

"With Slade. I tried to help her," Robin heard a tinge of guilt in his voice. "But I was already tied up." He left out the whipping for reasons Robin could already guess.

"How is it that you were captured together?" Robin asks standing up.

"We were fighting. I was down at some jewelry shop stealing stuff when Starfire whooshed in and started zappin' me."

"She was alone?" Robin asked with concern.

"Yeah. I asked her why but she just said something like 'I'd never tell the likes of you'. After about ten minutes of that we both heard some beeping. She powered down to listen. I was about to attack again when the beepin' stopped, and there was an explosion."

"Was she alright? Was she hurt?" Robin asked walking towards X.

"Woah lover boy. She was fine from what I could tell. Just a few bumps and bruises." Said Red X holding up his hands.

Robin ignored the 'lover boy' comment. He looked at the villain for a few seconds before walking over to the table and getting his keys.

"Hey, Where ya going?" Red X asks walking over to the door where Robin is already unlocking it.

"To see Star. If you want to come you have to stay quiet and act normal." Robin replied. To tell the truth, he wasn't as tense as before. He knew now he could take on X if it came to it, and he could use the help.

Robin stops.

"Is Starfire… different?" Robin asks still facing the door.

"Some what hotter, little less naïve, oh and her voice changed a bit… why?"

As much a Robin was disturbed by the fact that Red X knew so much about Starfire, it still helped him to know that that girl in Slade's office was his Star, even if the scream was different.

His mind did not call him on the his.

"No reason." Robin answers as he opens the door.

Robin and Red X walked into the hall and Robin closes the door behind them. He walks down the dark hallway casually. He doesn't want to draw any attention to them. Slade's loyalist's liked to roam around about this time. Red X took the hint and slouched his shoulders a bit, to seem less alert. As they walk at a semi- fast pace down the hall, Robin notices several groups of Apprentice's talking in low voices. They would look at him suspiciously before turning back. Robin got worried. No one was this distrustful unless someone had turned someone else in to Slade… or something happened. Robin hoped it was the former, but he knew that it was the latter. No one was this quiet during free time unless something really bad happened.

"Cheery place." Red X mumbles so only Robin could hear. The bitterness in his voice makes Robin smile, but only slightly.

When the random groups of teens disappear, Robin removes his shoes for stealth purposes. He honestly has no idea why Slade insists they wear those big, clanking things. Red X follows his example and tucks his shoes under his arm. The two boys begin to run without a sound. Even their breath is hardly heard. For once in his life Robin thanks Red X for being as in shape as he is.

They began to slow down their pace as the hallway where Slade's office is comes into view. Robin places his shoes down and walked to Slade's door with a bird- a- rang in hand. They are excellent at picking locks, and he used it for just that.

Robin pushed the door open just wide enough for him to fit through without hitting the door. He grabs the doorframe and pulls his rigid body inside without so much as brushing the door. Red X does the same and soon both of them are on their hands and knee's inside Slade's office. Robin had been here many times before and he knew the place almost as well as his own room. He crawled silently across the floor to a room on the opposite wall. He pressed an ear to it.

Silence.

He then crawled to a door on the other side of the room. He pressed his ear to the door as he had the other one.

He could hear labored breathing on the other side and he knew it couldn't be Slade. The breathing came out in a long, hoarse rhythm, indicating that this person had smaller lungs. Than Slade anyway.

Robin pulled out a regular lock pick and could hardly concentrate as he wiggled it around inside the lock. Starfire could be on the other side. HIS Starfire. He pushes open the door quietly and walked inside.

No Slade.

One Starfire.

He inhales breath quickly at the sight of her. She was battered up pretty good. He stood up cautiously and walked to her.

"Starfire?"

No response.

"Star?"

"Hmm?"

His heart skipped a beat.

"Don't worry I'm getting you out." Robin says scooping her up in his arms.

He carried her out to Slade's main office and opened the door wider so he could get through with Star in his arms. He walked down Slade's walkway with Red X in tow. He looked down at Starfire. He pushes a strand of hair out of her face.

_Finally. _He thought to himself.

He was brought out of his fantasies by a sharp tug on his arm. Only after Red X pulled him back did he hear the footsteps outside. He whirled quickly and pressed himself flat against the wall covering Starfire's mouth just in case. He closes his eyes as the footsteps grow louder as they come nearer. Then they pass. Robin cautiously pokes his head around the wall he had pinned himself to and watched a large group of Slade's loyalists walk by. If they had found him…

He turned to Red X who was looking at him.

"Walk ahead of us." Robin whispered. "No one will suspect you, and you can scout for anyone that will suspect me with Star."

Red X nods and walked around the wall. Robin hears him pick up both pairs of their shoes and walk on. After about five minutes Robin turns the corner himself.

The walk to his room was pretty uneventful. Once a couple of his friends whistled indicating the sleeping Starfire in his arms. He had only smirked at them and continued walking.

When he reached his room Red X was already there leaning against the wall. Robin fumbled in his pocket for his keys. When he got them Red X held out his arms indicating that he should hold Starfire while Robin opens the door. Robin gave him a 'ya right' look and tosses him the keys. X scowls but unlocks the door anyway. As soon as they are inside Red X locks the door, Robin sets Starfire down on the bed.

He sits next to her and shakes her slightly.

"Starfire." Robin says just loudly enough to wake her up.

"Huh?" Starfire said rolling over. "No Robin I will not get up… it's too early." Starfire states half asleep.

"It's actually 11: 30 at night Star." Robin replies stroking her back. God he had missed this.

"Uh huh…" She says back. "Wake me up late-" He feels her body stiffen. She rolls over with huge eyes.

"Robin?"

"Well hello there cutie." Red X says walking over to them and smiling down at her.

Starfire blinks. "Robin?" She asks again.

"Yeah?" He replies smiling and holding his arms out for a hug.

"I… Can it… Robin!" She finally screams throwing herself into his arms. He holds her against him as he strokes her hair softly. A tangled web of explanations and questions come from Starfire and she holds onto him fiercely.

"….And we just couldn't find you Robin!" She suddenly bursts out. She pulls back suddenly. "It IS really you?" she asks placing a hand on his face.

His voice shakes when he replies with a "Ya I'm real." He covers her hand with his own as she smiles at him with tears in her eyes.

"Oh don't mind me, I'm just here for the food." Red X scoffs as he looks down at the two out of the corner of his eye.

"Robin, who is this?" She asks tilting her head to the side.

"A rather annoying acquaintance Star. Don't listen to him."

Star giggles when Red X makes an angry noise. Star turns back to Robin and hugs him again.

"Never go away again…" She whispers. He holds her tight against him.

"I would never leave you." He says into her hair.

All three teenagers tense at the sound of a knock on the door.


End file.
